University Ministry, Service, and Support

Prayer for Healing

Renew My Mind, Body and Soul Lord, I come before you today in need of your healing hand. In you all things are possible. Hold my heart within yours, and renew my mind, body, and soul I am lost, but I am singing. You gave us life, and you also give us the gift of infinite joy. Give me the strength to move forward on the path you’ve laid out for me. Guide me towards better health, and give me the wisdom to identify those you’ve placed around me to help me get better In your name I pray, Amen.

To Heal a Friend Think, o God, of our friend who is ill, whom we now commend to Your compassionate regard. Comfort him upon his sickbed, and ease his suffering. We beg for deliverance, and submit that no healing is too hard for the Lord, if it be His will. We therefore pray that You bless our friend with Your loving care, renew his strength, and heal what ails him in Your loving name. Thank You, Lord.

Psalm 41: 1-4

1 Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the LORD delivers him in times of trouble.
2 The LORD will protect him and preserve his life. The will bless him in the land and not surrender him to the desire of his foes.
3 The LORD will sustain him on his sickbed and restore him from his bed of illness.
4 I said, “O LORD, have mercy on me; heal me, for I have sinned against you.”

Solomon’s Prayer for Wisdom

So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?

1 Kings 3:9 NIV

Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Prayer for Minds Full of Wisdom

God our Savior,
bring us back to you
and fill our minds with your wisdom.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. AMEN

Prayer of Thanks

Dear Heavenly Father, You know the times I have been ungrateful, held ill thoughts toward You and my fellow humans. You know the times I complain and grumble about life and its circumstances, about suffering, going through what seem endless trials and tribulations. Even yielding my members to unholy deeds. 

Yet God You are and always will be there with me, even when it seems like I am forever in the wilderness, running further and further from You, You, my God are there guiding me back to Your loving arms. 

I am thankful Lord for everything that You allow to cross my path. Thankful for the decisions that You allow me to make and the lessons that come from these decisions. 

I’m thankful, Lord, that I do not have to live under condemnation anymore, that You have truly set me free, that I am a new creation that I need not live under the law anymore. Thankful Lord that You have given me joy unspeakable. Thankful Lord that You are longsuffering, allowing me to mature in You! 

Lord, words do not express my thankfulness. For Your mighty power is at work in me, transforming me, renewing my mind. To You Lord belong thanks eternal. 

In Jesus’ name, amen.

Prayer to St Michael For Powerful Aid

Glorious Prince of the heavenly hosts 
and victor over rebellious spirits, 
be mindful of me who am so weak and sinful 
and yet so prone to pride and ambition. 
Lend me, I pray, 
thy powerful aid in every temptation and difficulty, 
and above all do not forsake me 
in my last struggle with the powers of evil. 

Amen.

Prayer of Thanks

God of Love,

I thank You for the people in my life
who are easy to love.
I thank You for my family and friends
who understand my actions,
who support me in my decisions,
and whose presence can lift the burden of a thorny day.

Help me with those who are difficult to love.
When they come at me with criticism
and wild expectations,
when they ignore me
or try to bend me to their will,
let me recognize their flaws and their dangers.
But then let me remember your attitude toward them,
and lead me to see them
in the light of Your love.

Amen

“Thanksgiving” by Ralph Waldo Emerson

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

Prayer for being overwhelmed by Christianteens.com

Lord, I pray that you provide me your hand and walk me through the dark times. I ask that you reduce the burdens in my life or show me the path to get things done or rid myself of the things weighing me down. Thank you, Lord, for all you do in my life and how you will provide for me, even in these stressful times.

Philippines 4:13 (NAB)

I have strength for everything through him who empowers me.

Prayer for Meeting a Deadline

God of the universe, help me through this stressful time. Allow me to have complete confidence in you and your plan. Give me the strength to do what I must to meet this deadline but also allow me to see past it. Comfort mr and let my heart and body be at ease. I ask this through Jesus Christ, Amen.

Thanksgiving Prayer

This Thanksgiving let those of us who have much and those who have little gather at the welcoming table of the Lord. At this blessed feast, may rich and poor alike remember that we are called to serve on another and to walk together in God’s gracious world. With thankful hearts we praise our God who like a loving parent denies us no good thing.

Thanksgiving Table Prayer

O Gracious God, we give you thanks for your overflowing generosity to us. Thank you for the blessings of the food we eat and especially for this feast today. Thank you for our home and family and friends, especially for the presence of those gathered here. Thank you for our health, our work and our play. Please send help to those who are hungry, alone, sick and suffering war and violence. Open our hearts to your love. We ask your blessing through Christ your son. Amen.

Prayer to St. John Baptist de la Salle, Patron of Educators

Well-known Founder of the Congregation of the Brothers of Christian Schools, orthodox and prayerful theologian, you realized the very great value of competent Christian educators.
How great your wholesome influence has been! Make your followers continue to be Christlike models for all their students who in turn will edify others. Amen.

Prayer for the Philippines

God, who quiets great winds and rough seas,
We ask your protection for the people of the Philippines.
Comfort them in their fear.
Stay close to them in their danger.
And we ask the intercession of Your Blessed Mother
That together with her and with all your holy saints
We may stand in solidarity with our Filipino brothers and sisters
through their darkest hour
through their longest night.
Give us the courage to remain steadfast
To reach out to each of them in their need
To comfort them in their sorrow
To hold them as closely as You hold them
To see them through to morning.

Amen

In this area, we will periodically post reflections that students have written regarding Scripture passages. There will be a new reflection posted here each week, and we will log old reflections here to be viewed all the time.

This week’s reflection is by Jes Smith: Embracing the world God Has Given Us – Being Proactive Disciples of Christ

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices,holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will. 3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. 4Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you;bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 12

Reflection:

In Romans 12, we are challenged to take the ordinary and develop the extraordinary, to shift from having a fixed culture to being open, and to embrace every possible situation that life has in store for us. Up to this point in my life, I have often asked myself “How am I to fully embrace the world that God has given me?” Although this cannot be done but over an entire lifetime, it is important to periodically reflect on how we can advance ourselves as Christian human beings. For me, I find the advancement in embracing all that God calls us to be.

When reflecting back to grade school until now, I see a slow but sure progression within myself towards the very things Roman 12 asks of us. I was born and raised into the Catholic faith beginning with grade school. I came from a community in which if you did not have certain variables, you were an outcast, an outsider. As I began to meet new people, travel new places, and introduce myself to new ideas throughout high school and the entry of college, the very narrow mindedness began to dissipate. It had all been so new to me! I was charged to put myself out there with an open mind and heart to discover some of the truths and experiences that the world has to offer. The problem is that these very truths and experiences are not ones that simply pop up in front of us to take part in. They are ones in which we have to actively seek out.

For me, coming to La Salle University was nothing short of a blessing. This institution has challenged me to go out and try new things, associate with different social groups, establish new connections and to do such a thing with an open mind and heart. I have been made vulnerable, uncomfortable and nervous by some of the new endeavors I was taking part in. An environment had been created for me so that I could be proactive and embracive of God’s world. I would never, in a thousands years believe that I would be coordinating a service trip to the Dominican Republic to build a home and hope with a community of beautiful human beings. I would never in a thousand years imagine being that guy who was emotional or crying on retreats and reflections.

I challenge all of you to be go-getters in this world that is all too stagnant and fixed. Actively seek the truths and experiences that will cause you to have an open mind and heart. Do something different today, influence someone new tomorrow, change perspectives the following day, and then do it all over again. Once we begin to do this, the potential for a chain reaction comes into play. We must always be influencing each other to discover news things, reach bigger goals, and live diverse lives. I want all of you to be uncomfortable with your prospective endeavors, whether it is making conversation with someone unlike yourself, participating in an event you never would or taking up a new thing that opens your eyes to the way of the world. I think being uncomfortable and being embracive of such has the potential to ground you in such profound ways that it will in fact place the life you lead before God. Take control of your life, embrace it, challenge it, love it, and most importantly, live it.

Click here to access old reflections!